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Lake Chelan Winery 2011 Merlot, Lake Chelan, $28

By on November 5, 2014

lake-chelan-winery-merlot-2011-bottleThe Kludt family helped launch the modern wine industry around Washington’s Lake Chelan in 1998 when it decided to chop down their Red Delicious apple orchards to make way for wine grapes. They’ve gone on to create two remarkable winery/restaurant operations near the north shore, starting with this label. Their estate plantings, well into their second decade, produce some delicious wines, and this inky Merlot opens with aromas of blueberry, blackberry, black pepper, black licorice and tar. Those tones of purple fruit continue as flavors of boysenberry, blueberry and elderberry, backed by crushed walnut. It’s bursting with acidity and a good tug from tannin, making this ideal for steak or burgers at their BBQ in the Vineyard Restaurant, which will reopen in the spring.

Rating: Excellent

Production: 496 cases

Alcohol: 13.8%

Winery website

About Great Northwest Wine

Articles authored by Great Northwest Wine are co-authored by Eric Degerman and Andy Perdue. In most cases, these are wine reviews that are judged blind by the Great Northwest Wine tasting panel.

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